Sunday, April 8, 2012

April 8 - Playing with Faith

April 8

Today is Easter and I made a resurrection cake to celebrate our faith in Jesus.This idea is not an original idea, in fact it was a link posted in one of the blog’s I routinely scan, .Normally I don’t spend a lot of time reading lists, but this one caught my eye. I was so excited when I saw the idea for this cake that I’ve spent the last week thinking about it and collecting materials.Jeff helped me put it together last night and it awaited the kids’ discovery.

Nate and Elli came downstairs and discovered their Easter baskets, and were excited with a bit of candy for breakfast and play with their new owl puppets from Grammy & Grampa.After a few minutes I called them into the kitchen.“Hey, I’ve got something to show you!”They came running.I pulled off the cake cover and they were delighted to see the cake depicting Jesus’ empty tomb complete with a cookie stone door.Thankfully they recognized it for what it was and soon were checking it out.Nate peaked in and announced, “It’s empty! Jesus is gone!”

Almost immediately their minds started playing with the cake.We went back into the living room and then the trips to the kitchen began.Not as you might think the kids, weren’t munching but playing.They locked the guards in the tomb.Orange rocks, Reese’s Pieces, appeared. The doors opened.The guards moved.

I love it when the kids’ play collides with our faith. This is not a new concept for Nate and Elli, they've done it before. Is it sometimes irreverent?Perhaps.But it makes the stories recorded so long ago come alive to them.They interact with a moment 2,000 years ago!The other thing that this does is to bring the reason for the holiday to the forefront.Too often, in our culture, faith takes a backseat to the cutsie or the commercial. Allowing the kids to integrate play around the meaning of the day/season helps to brings the focus back for all of us.